Antoinette Oglethorpe

In 2008, a Health Care organisation was striving to develop an internal performance culture. The organisation had designed a new Performance and Development Review (PDR) process that defined the behaviours needed to deliver its vision and values. The challenge they needed help with was the launch the new PDR process and to ensure managers used it as the basis for effective performance discussions. I designed a strategy consisting of three elements including training in how to have effective… Show more

In 2008, a Health Care organisation was striving to develop an internal performance culture. The organisation had designed a new Performance and Development Review (PDR) process that defined the behaviours needed to deliver its vision and values. The challenge they needed help with was the launch the new PDR process and to ensure managers used it as the basis for effective performance discussions. I designed a strategy consisting of three elements including training in how to have effective performance discussions using professional actors. Uptake of the new Performance & Development Review (PDR) process was high and anecdotal evidence showed that significant numbers of staff at all levels noticed observable differences in behaviour of those who attended the workshops. Managers had handled difficult conversations constructively. They had dealt with underperformance. And they had recognised high performance. Staff survey results showed better scores on Appraisal, Training and Learning & Development. Show less

In 2008, Mark McKergow, the Director of sfwork – The Centre for Solutions Focus at Work, invited me to be the Programme Director for a ‘Solutions Focus Coaching for Leaders Programme’ for an NHS Trust. The Trust recognised that a key role of its senior leaders is to support and develop levels of management and leadership at all levels. So they wanted a programme that would help these leaders adopt a coaching style of leadership with their staff. I was privileged to deliver the programme for… Show more

In 2008, Mark McKergow, the Director of sfwork – The Centre for Solutions Focus at Work, invited me to be the Programme Director for a ‘Solutions Focus Coaching for Leaders Programme’ for an NHS Trust. The Trust recognised that a key role of its senior leaders is to support and develop levels of management and leadership at all levels. So they wanted a programme that would help these leaders adopt a coaching style of leadership with their staff. I was privileged to deliver the programme for thirteen groups of managers, nearly 200 managers in total. The managers reported a number of benefits. Solution-focused coaching wasn’t a silver bullet but it helped them to create a more positive culture and allowed them to make progress in a number of challenging situations. Show less

One of my clients is a large nature conservation charity. A manager at the charity contacted me to ask for help with a workshop he had planned for his team. He described the problem he was trying to address like this “It’s not quite ‘conflict resolution’ (that makes it sound a bit too much like a war zone or something), but more about how to persuade others and work productively with them to achieve our goals. We rarely have daggers at dawn but we’re often frustrated by what we see as… Show more

One of my clients is a large nature conservation charity. A manager at the charity contacted me to ask for help with a workshop he had planned for his team. He described the problem he was trying to address like this “It’s not quite ‘conflict resolution’ (that makes it sound a bit too much like a war zone or something), but more about how to persuade others and work productively with them to achieve our goals. We rarely have daggers at dawn but we’re often frustrated by what we see as barriers from others.” I designed a workshop for the charity using brain-friendly techniques that engage both halves of the brain. And used my PARTNER model as a framework. At the end of the workshop the manager said “That was just what we needed. The PARTNER model is practical, useful and immediately applicable. We are going to use it to think through every partnership we work in.” Show less